Wizards-Suns Preview

By JORDAN GARRETSONPosted Jan 23 2014 5:51PM

The Phoenix Suns were pegged by many to finish at the bottom of the Western Conference.

However, after an impressive blowout of the NBA's top team, they sit at their schedule's halfway point only one victory shy of matching last season's total.

They'll look for their 25th win Friday night at home against the inconsistent Washington Wizards.

Expectations were low in Phoenix with the club coming off a 57-loss season and losing featured players such as Luis Scola, Jared Dudley and Marcin Gortat, who is now with Washington.

The Suns (24-17), though, occupy the seventh spot in the highly competitive West and are coming off a 124-100 victory over Indiana on Wednesday.

"We've got to stay humble," guard Gerald Green, who scored 23 to lead six Suns in double figures, told the team's official website. "We've got to continue to work."

Phoenix shot 54.2 percent and was 11 of 16 from 3-point range with 28 fast-break points against the Pacers, who lead the league in field-goal and scoring defense.

"We should play like that every game," said guard Goran Dragic, who scored 21 on 8-of-10 shooting and is averaging 22.2 points over his last 13 contests while shooting 52.5 percent. "We should play like that against everybody, even if they are last in the standings."

The Suns continue to be much more potent offensively at home, where they've won four of five and are 15-6 on the season. They average 109.2 points while shooting 39.5 percent from 3-point range at US Airways Center compared to a 99.4 scoring average and 34.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc on the road.

The Wizards (20-21) squandered their fourth opportunity to surpass the .500 mark with a 113-111 overtime loss to visiting Boston on Wednesday.

The defeat was particularly disappointing considering the Celtics had lost 12 of 13 and were without Rajon Rondo and Avery Bradley. Washington yielded 39 points to Jeff Green and allowed Gerald Wallace to score the winning layup with 2.5 seconds left.

The Wizards haven't been over .500 since starting 2-1 in 2009-10. Coach Randy Wittman attributed the loss to what he described as an "I got mine" attitude from some of his players, something point guard John Wall didn't disagree with.

Wall had 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his second career triple-double, but he only hit 9 of a career-high 29 field-goal attempts and missed a potential winning 3-pointer at the buzzer. Backcourt mate Bradley Beal was 7 of 16, including 0 for 4 from long range.

"It starts with me," Wall said. "I took too many shots tonight and didn't move the ball like we're supposed to in the first half. ... For some reason, we don't go out there in that first half when we've got an opportunity to go (above) .500 and play as a team. We get to playing selfish."

Washington is averaging 45.5 points and 9.3 assists in the first half of the four games it entered with a .500 record, down from its season averages of 50.0 and 12.0 in the first 24 minutes.

Gortat, who averaged 13.4 points and 9.3 rebounds over two seasons for Phoenix before being traded to the Wizards in October, has double-doubles in three straight contests.

The Suns had taken 10 straight meetings until Washington won both matchups last season for its first sweep since 2001-02.

Copyright 2014 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Ariza, Beal help Wizards beat Suns 101-95

By BOB BAUMPosted Jan 25 2014 1:11AM

PHOENIX (AP) Phoenix was flying high after a blowout win over Indiana.

Then the Washington Wizards came to town and brought down the Suns with a thud.

Trevor Ariza scored 23 points, Bradley Beal sank a pair of crucial shots down the stretch and the Wizards opened a four-game road trip Friday night with a 101-95 victory.

Beal's 3-pointer with 2:03 left gave the Wizards the lead for good at 96-93. His 15-footer made it 99-95 with 26.9 seconds to go, then he finished with a game-ending dunk.

"I knew that eventually the ball was going to come my way and I just stayed ready," Beal said. "I wasn't making too many shots throughout the game, but I just stayed with it and stayed confident."

John Wall had 18 points and 12 assists for the Wizards. Nene scored 18, Beal 17 and ex-Sun Marcin Gortat 14 for Washington.

Goran Dragic had 19 points and 11 assists for the Suns, who had handed the Pacers their worst loss of the season, a 24-point blowout on Wednesday night.

"We can't play that way," Frye said. "Too many turnovers and terrible defense."

After making 11 of 16 3-pointers against Indiana, the Suns were 7 of 22 against Washington, just 1 of 12 in the second half.

Washington, which pulled back to .500 with the win, outrebounded Phoenix 44-30, including 19-9 on the offensive boards. After nine turnovers against Indiana, Phoenix had 21 on Friday.

"There was a bunch of things," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. "We had 21 turnovers. It's been probably six or seven games since we have a big turnover night. Then the offensive rebounds - they got 19 of them. So all that stuff adds up."

The Suns rallied from an eight-point deficit late to tie it at 93 on Plumlee's hook shot with 2:43 to go. But P.J. Tucker missed two free throws that would have given Phoenix the lead, then Beal made the go-ahead 3.

Nene made one of two free throws with 1:38 to go to boost the lead to 97-93, and Plumlee's dunk on a pass from Dragic cut it to 97-95 with 41.9 seconds left. Beal's 15-footer with 26.9 seconds remaining put Washington ahead 99-95, then after a pair of missed 3s by the Suns, his dunk ended it.

Frye said the Suns are mistaken to think that the win over Indiana was a big deal.

"If your season was betting on beating the Pacers one time at home," he said, "then, hey, I think we need to sit you back down and let you know you've got 81 more."

Ariza switched onto Frye and shut him down after a 12-point first quarter.

"It was just defensive intensity," he said. "When we press up defensively and get stops, it ignites our offense. It's what gets me going. When we play good defense, we're a good team."

Phoenix led 57-51 at halftime and was up 59-51 after Frye opened the third quarter with a basket.

Washington then took off on a 17-4 run. Hornacek drew a technical during the outburst for complaining about an offensive foul call on Dragic. Nene's driving layup capped the spurt and put the Wizards up 68-63 with 7:06 left in the third quarter.

Nene's dunk put the Wizards ahead 89-81 with 8:17 to go, then Dragic led the Suns back. He sank a 16-footer, Gerald Green got a layup after Nene's turnover, then Dragic scored on a driving layup to cut Washington's lead to 89-87 with 6:13 to go. But Dragic missed a layup in traffic that would have tied it, Nene rambled down the lane for a dunk and Washington led 91-87 just 5:28 from the finish.

Phoenix managed to get even one more time, but then Beal finished it off.

"It didn't all go our way," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "We had a couple of breakdowns there and they tied it up but we came down and made some plays."

There were 19 lead changes in the game and neither team led by double figures.

NOTES: Wizards F Martell Webster sat out with the flu. ... Hornacek said rookie G Archie Goodwin would play two games for Phoenix's D-League team in Bakersfield, then rejoin the Suns on Sunday in Cleveland. ... The Wizards opened a stretch of four road games in five nights. ... The Suns finished their homestand 3-2 and begin a four-game, five-night trip Sunday in Cleveland.

Copyright 2014 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Notebook: Wizards 101, Suns 95

THE FACT: The Phoenix Suns are 16-8 with currently injured guard Eric Bledsoe, and now 8-10 without him..

THE LEAD: The Washington Wizards pulled out a thrilling 101-95 win over the Suns on Friday night in Phoenix. The Wizards (21-21) took advantage of Suns' (24-18) mistakes all night en route to victory. The Suns had 21 turnovers; they had been averaging an NBA-best 11.5 turnovers in January. The Wizards also came up with clutch shots in the closing minutes, including a 3-pointer and a mid-range jumper by Bradley Beal to seal the game.

Trevor Ariza led the Wizards with 23 points, seven rebounds and four steals. He also defended the Suns' Channing Frye effectively late. John Wall had an outstanding game with 18 points, 12 assists and just two turnovers. Beal added 17 points, six boards and four steals. Nene had 18 points and eight boards.

For the Suns, Goran Dragic had 19 points and 11 assists.

QUOTABLE: "The kid [Wall] has got the heart of a lion. I'll take players like that." -- Wizards coach Randy Wittman

THE STAT: The Wizards outrebounded the Suns 44-30, including 19-9 on the offensive boards. This helped the Wizards to get 15 more shots (86-71) than the Suns.

TURNING POINT: The Wizards, down 57-51 to start the second half, got off to a 17-6 start in the third quarter to take a 68-83 lead. The Suns never led a again, but they managed to tie the game, 93-93, with 2:43 left and had the chance to take the lead with P.J. Tucker at the line. But he missed both free throws, and Beal responded with a 3-pointer. Then, with the Wizards leading, 97-95 in the final 30 seconds, Beal hit a 16-footer to seal it.

QUOTABLE III: "It was a great battle. It was fun to be here (playing against) a very good team. We showed we can play with anybody."-- Washington's Marcin Gortat

HOT: Ariza nailed all eight of his free throws. That mark was his career best without a miss.

NOT: The Wizards clamped down on the Suns' 3-point game, limiting them to 7-for-22 (32 percent).

ROOKIE WATCH: The Suns sent off guard Archie Goodwin down to Bakersfield of the NBA Development League. Goodwin, 19, had appeared in 36 games while averaging 3.0 points, 1.7 rebounds and 10.3 minutes. With Leandro Barbosa and Ish Smith establishing themselves behind starters Dragic and Green in the backcourt, "It makes it hard to get another set of minutes for Archie," coach Jeff Hornacek said.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: After seven games in his return to the Suns, Barbosa is averaging 9.1 points on 39 percent shooting. He's had three 10-plus point games.

NOTABLE: The Wizards' Martell Webster, who was ill, did not play. ...The Wizards won their third straight vs. the Suns, their longest streak in the series since winning three in a row from Jan. 26. 2002 to Jan. 27, 2003. ...The Suns are 3-12 when they fail to score 100 points. ...The Suns finished their season-long, five-game homestand at 3-2. ...Wall had his 15th double-double of the season. ...Ariza had his ninth game scoring 20-plus.